New Delhi, Aug. 26 -- Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent of Mamaearth and The Derma Co, has called off the proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Fluence Pharma Pvt Ltd, but asserted that it will continue to evaluate opportunities in the nutraceuticals segment.
The Mumbai-listed company said in a stock market disclosure that it terminated the deal due to the non-fulfilment of closing conditions specified under the agreement between Honasa and Fluence Pharma.
The company said that it remains committed to its nutraceuticals strategy and that it "will continue to evaluate the right opportunities, organic and inorganic, to build a strong consumer-focused business in this category."
The development follows the beauty and personal care firm's announcement in June when it agreed to acquire a majority stake in the bootstrapped nutraceuticals maker.
The proposed deal entailed Honasa first acquiring 58% of Fluence Pharma, which offers skin and hair nutrition supplements and uses a dermatologist-led distribution network. It was to buy the remaining 42% stake in Fluence in two tranches over the next five to seven years. The deal would have given Fluence an enterprise value of Rs 135 crore ($14.2 million at the time), which was around 3.4 times its FY26 revenue of Rs 40 crore and 15 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), Honasa said.
Fluence has grown at a compound annual rate of nearly 19% between FY21 and FY25, according to VCCircle calculations. However, in the last two fiscal years through March 2026, the company's topline has grown in the range of around 3-7%. This implies a sharp slowdown since it recorded a jump of almost 80% in FY22, when demand for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products jumped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company's EBITDA has followed a similar trend. Its EBITDA more than doubled in FY22, but growth slowed sharply in the next three years. In FY26, its EBITDA likely fell from the year before. The EBITDA margin, too, climbed sharply in FY22 but remained stagnant thereafter before recording a fall in FY25 and again in FY26.
Founded by Amit Bhusari and Rajendra Singh Rajput, Fluence Pharma offers condition- and gender-specific, over-the-counter supplement doses for complex hair and skin conditions using its proprietary Cyclical Nutritional Therapy, where two supplements are consumed per day in three-day cycles. The company offers its products via a network of more than 3,000 practicing dermatologists.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.